iPhone 3G Sold Out in 21 States

Apple reports being sold out of all models of the iPhone 3G in 117 of its 188 retail outlets in the United States five days after bringing the product to market. The company updates a page on its website after 9pm in each time zone where you can check availability near you, but there have been reports the information is unreliable. Yesterday dozens of people waited in line to buy a phone at the Apple store in Kansas City based on notice the store was fully stocked, but apparently the store’s shipment never arrived and the manager had to begin placating angry customers by 1pm. If you live in many locations along the eastern seaboard, you might consider driving to New York, but there you will encounter the same long lines persisting in front of stores in other major markets such as San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta.

The Apple website says, “Shipments of iPhone 3G arrive most days and availability is updated nightly,” for each of its stores, but advises to “get there early” because the phones are sold on a first come-first served basis. With wait times exceeding three hours and the sale/activation process continuing to take upwards of half an hour in the store, you’ll invest time as well as money getting a new iPhone anytime soon.

About the author:

Lonnie Lazar is a writer-musician-web designer-attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

angus Shangus

Got mine on Friday… They couldn’t activate in-store so i had to do it at home. Why don’t they just force you to sign a ATT contract on the spot and let you activate at home? What’s the point of in-store activation? Why would they care if you unlocked your phone if they already have you signed up for a 2 year contract?

Michael Cutillo

Ordered mine through AT&T Premier and it arrived today.

No lines at all.

I feel cheated :)

Dev

“sold out” because they only shipped 10 iPhones to each store.

BrotherShane

My wife and I ordered our phones on Saturday, still waiting for the store to get them in.

Michael

The site really is unreliable. At the Oakridge, San Jose store they lied about getting a shipment. The store employees had no idea the site even said they would get one.